Concudan's roadmap to introductions

Chapter 1: In San Antonio there are Charger Fans:
So I got into the posting thing ohh back four years ago I believe? Has it actually been that long, guess it has. Anyway today I was thinking of the humble beginnings of the poster Concudan, and the good things that I have had happen to me since deciding the begin posting.

So when I started, I was a consultant for a software validation company. This had me traveling from place to place all over the country. At the time I was posting at the UT, and I was going to San Antonio. I decide to put out a post asking if there was any fans/posters in SA. Several people responded, when I asked if any of them wanted to get together, BFISA said sure.

So a few weeks later BFISA and his lovely wife walk into a Mexican Restaurant where the meeting was set to go down. They looked about, smiled big and came over to the only other person there wearing a Charger jersey. Luck would have it, it was me. Thus I met the first person via the forums. BFISA and his wife, who are great people that I am honored to know.

We ate some great food, and talked for a couple of hours before parting ways. My travels took me back to San Antonio several times and each time I made sure I got together with BFISA and his family. I had hoped to meet the other famous poster from SA, but unfortunately Shamrock was never able to join us, but I spoke to him many times.

Edit: I finally found the pictures BFISA took. I cant find the pictures of the Fajitas of the Gods we had though...

Chapter 2: The horn heard across the west:
It was one trip when I found out that the infamous Trumpet_Man was in SA for family business. I heard this and got his number from BFISA. I called T_Man out of the blue, never having met the guy before, but having respect for him as a Charger fan. I understood that he was dealing with a very sad loss and when he answered, I said “Hey Tony, This is Concudan from the forum, I wanted to express my condolences on your loss.” I was actually nervous because I didn’t know him and he didn’t know me other than the sometimes larger than life personas we take on while posting. Further, T_man and I differed in opinion on several things and jousted verbally when ever we got a chance. The call was received well, and though he was unable to meet with BFISA and myself for dinner, I think a friendship had begun.

It was later that year at the annual San Francisco preseason game that I tracked T_Man down. He had told me where his seats were, and I was on the other side of the stadium. When things dies down I went on the hunt. I looked in the area where T-Man said his seats were thinking “I am never going to find this guy, besides he will think I am some psycho stalker… Hmmm maybe he is rite.” Well I walk past a entry way and I hear a familiar voice. I had spoken with T-Man several times on the phone and knew what he sounded like. I walk into the tunnels to the seats and walk up to him.

I say to him in a matter of fact tone “Are you Trumpet_Man?” The play of emotions on his face at that time makes me laugh to this very day. He looked worried, puzzled, annoyed then down right pissed off. He said “Yeah who the f*ck wants to know!?” I chuckled a bit and said “I am Concudan, good to meet you.” Extending my hand. We hit it off big. I don’t know how I found him and neither does he. Lets just say Inspector Clouseau has nothing on my mad sleuthing skills! :lol:

Chapter 3: Do I get up that early to Tailgate at 8am?!
Well things went along as well as can be expected at the UT. There were the Guffy fights, the Pirate invasion and the Brees v. Rivers war. My post count continued to grow, as did my reputation as the King of Pad! :lol:

I got a PM from T_Man telling me in his eloquent manner to “Get my *** to training camp!” So I mulled it over, never having gone, but there were going to be people there I don’t know, and being very self conscious I almost said no. In fact I did say no. But T_Man called me a ***** and challenged my manhood. How could I refuse that?

I drove up in my little car and saw several people there. People whom I have come to admire, and respect over time, and sharing posts with them. To this day I am glad T_Man was a dick and made me go to the camp. If not then I may have never met the likes of SDRon, Rico Bolt, CompuBolt, Thumper, and Ride the Lighting. People I met again because one day I decided I was going to respond to some post by a guy who calls himself Trumpet_Man…

The camp was fun, people would get together before the opening of the gates and talk about the team, how things were going. Drink a little, eat some grub, maybe partake of some other vice on the side, but it was a great experience. If you have the opportunity to go, I would highly recommend it. Life long memories are things we can create! Just don’t try and talk with T_Man when he is draining the horn… :icon_eek:

Chapter 4: And I said what about breakfast with Shammy?!
I was happy one day to get a PM from SDRon. He said that some posters were getting together at a small place in SD for breakfast to meet Shamrock. The guy had managed to evade me for over a year. I decided this was one get together I would happily go to. Some of my favorite posters would be there. Famous posters who virtually ruled the electronic wastelands of the UT forums at the time, posters of high quality and caliber like; Big Brother, O’Reilly, Electric Chair, Thumper, and of course SD Ron, Compubolt and T_Man.

It was a meeting I was very pleased to attend. Though I lived over an hour away I would get to meet some new people who up to that point had been an avatar and some black and white text. Sometimes you can get the measure of a man, or woman through their written thoughts. Sometimes you cannot. However I think I had the people there pegged. Each one showed me that day the arrogance of that assumption.

Thumper; he for instance did not come across as quiet or reserved in his posting. Yet that morning, the first time we met in person, he was quiet and reserved. Shammy; he was larger than life on the forums, very knowledgeable in his posts, he proved to be a very nice, down to earth guy that was easy to talk with, and indeed very knowledgeable. O’Reily, a poster who I had grown to liked a lot from my experiences posting with him at the UT. He was always funny, and slippery. You could never catch him in any sort of joke or online argument, he just avoided them like he had Teflon armor. He proved to be a bit grumpy that morning and very camera shy. He had been out late the night before and some clown with a camera (yeah, me!) kept snapping close-ups of him! :lol: He was very nice in actuality, just irritated at the clown with the camera… Big Brother, was a very funny man whose clever manner of posting made me picture someone more… Robin Williams-ish… :lol: He was a pleasure to get to know, and very friendly. Then was the mad moderator, Electric Chair. At the time (or so I recollect) he was one of the moderators at the Chargers forum on the UT. Never a better moderator have I seen (Though SDC is getting close). He could calm a situation down with a single PM and for some reason I had been the recipient of multiple ‘calming’ PMs… But he was a nice man with an easy smile.

I found myself wondering during the nice breakfast how that many good guys came to know each other. Much of it was through posting on the forums. If you think about it that’s kind of a special thing. We have all met people in our lives that you wonder ‘how in the hell did I get mixed up with this jerk’ (as most the people mentioned above will soon post about me ). But here were several people whom I had met because of posting on a forum who were all great guys, any of them whom I would be and am honored to call friends.

Chapter 5: In North Carolina you will find him.
So I continue to work a job that has me flying from one end of this great land to another. I hear that the poster Hexedbolt lives near Durham where I am currently working but unfortunately I cant get together with one of the posters that I had spared the hardest in the great post wars that became known as Brees v. Rivers.

However I do find that SDChrger is in the area, and we set up to meet. However I didn’t have a clue what the heck he looked like. We met at a great Italian restaurant in the south point mall as I recall. I walk in and the place is packed. No one is wearing a charger shirt either. Well several possibilities go though my mind, but I am at ease as I have a per diem account so I can eat!

Then this lanky guy walks in and walks up to me and says “Well at least some of us are as ugly as their pictures online.” At first I think “WTF?! Is that anyway to great a stranger!” Then I realize it is an ugly mug and he is buying dinner so I had better be nice. :lol:

Anyway over a great meal I get to meet yet another Charger fan, we talk about work, family and such. Then we dive into the real stuff, Chargers and the posters we know. We covered it all, and when we left

Chapter 6: Mr. Conc goes to the game!
So the ’06 mini-camp and training camp came and went. Met were great people such as Anteater, ChargerRay, Drunk, Rexy and a host of others that I ask your forgiveness because my addled brain doesn’t recall the name right now. A great time, but for some reason people seemed to avoid my camera, saying they had been forewarned by O’Reilly… Damn but he made it hard to catch people with their guards down that year. It is hard to be a photo journalist under such conditions. However, no one warned Cromartie, and I caught him going up and getting a great interception!

I digress, last season I had the opportunity to SPONGE off five game tickets, I have never been to that many games in one season. I was very grateful, but man oh man! I met a great number of posters during that time. I cant name you all but I cant say I regret meeting any one of you. No! Not even you, BoltsSBBound! :lol: I think that joining the forums has been a very good thing. To the many of you whom I haven’t yet met I am Hope we do. Chispa, Kimmy, Hexed and a host of others.

To make a short story long, as well as to pad my post count, in a vain attempt to catch and surpass BFISA, I want to thank all of you. Yeah the posts may be sappy, but I hope you can find a bit of humor and humility in them. It is not easy to find friends, and to think that forums, be they UT or here at BoltTalk have allowed me to meet so many special people is amazing. Thank you all for enriching my life, be it by meeting, or reading your posts. Thank you for also posting your thoughts to help me make it through a day. I am not sure I can express how much they mean to me.

If you made it through all this, then I say thank you and ponder at the stamina you have to have to read through that much of my f'ed up mental dumping! :lol:

I remember you and I started Chanting "ONE MORE TIME!" over and over when we got the ball back close to the end zone.

I am not saying we started it but within moments the whole stadium was shaking as everyone was chanting it. It was a very special time, one I will never forget. That is why, though I teast you mercilessly, I will always appreciate what you gave me and thank you.

I honestly can say you gave me the gift of seeing history in the making!